Half of American workers didn’t get a raise this year. Here’s who did.

Half of workers got a raise this year (and, math, the other half did not)

Didn't get a raise this year? You're in good company: 52% of American workers didn't see a salary bump in the past 12 months, according to a new survey. But there's some hope: The survey from Bankrate suggests that typical workers might be getting a raise every two years instead of annually, so maybe next year will be your year. Another finding is that companies appear to be investing more in higher-salaried and higher-skilled workers. To wit: Only 26% of workers with a high school diploma or less saw their earnings rise at their current employers over the past year, vs. 36% of college graduates. And just 17% of workers earning less than $30,000 a year got raises, compared with 43% of those earning $75,000 or more. In more "the rich get richer" news, a separate report found the richest 1% now own half the world's wealth.

UCLA players suspended, but they made sure to thank Trump

President Trump got his wish Wednesday when three UCLA basketball players publicly thanked him for his role in helping them return stateside after they were charged with shoplifting while on a team trip to China last week. Trump, who spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping about taking care of the situation in an “expeditious way,” tweeted earlier Wednesday that the players — LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley — had been “headed for 10 years in jail” and wondered if they’d thank him for helping them get out of the Nov. 6 incident. At the time, LaVar Ball, the outspoken father of LiAngelo and Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball, said it wasn’t “that big of a deal.” But now his son and the other players have been suspended indefinitely.

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Three UCLA basketball players have been suspended indefinitely following their shoplifting incident in China. The players apologized and thanked President Trump for his role in helping them return to the U.S.
USA TODAY Sports

The Joe Biden interview that will make you cry, regardless of your politics

"It happened. My God, my boy. My beautiful boy." That from Joe Biden's diary entry on May 30, 2015, when he lost his son Beau to cancer. Biden had considered not running for president in 2016 to make way for Beau's political career. Instead, he didn't run because he was still mourning. Biden, who lost his wife and 1-year-old daughter in a car crash in 1972, knows grief intimately, but it washes over him less now. These days he's focused on helping Democrats in 2018 and even occasionally calling Vice President Mike Pence, Biden told USA TODAY's Susan Page. Biden has called President Trump "dangerous as hell" and says he could've beat him in 2016. Now, people are asking about 2020. “Look, if my health is good and things are moving, I would probably consider it,” Biden said. A new poll indicates he'd win.

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Joe Biden would beat President Trump in the 2020 general election… according to a new Politico and Morning Consult Poll.
Buzz60

The search is on for explorer who vanished in Papua New Guinea

British explorer Benedict Allen recently disappeared while searching for an elusive tribe in Papua New Guinea. Allen was dropped off in the rainforest by helicopter several weeks ago but didn't show up for a scheduled flight out of the country on Monday. The search is underway for the 57-year-old, but finding him won’t be easy: He didn't take a satellite phone or GPS with him. Before he left, he ominously tweeted, “I may be some time, don’t try to rescue me please.” Sorry, dude, they're trying.

(L-R) Kevin Sites and Benedict Allen in a 2009 photo for a History Channel explorer series, 'Expedition Africa: Stanley and Livingstone.' The eight-part series followed four adventurers as they retraced journalist Henry Stanley's 19th century search in Africa for missing explorer David Livingstone.(Photo: Brent Stirton, The History Channel¬)

There's more on the hunter who mistook an elk for a deer

An update on the 14-year-old Missouri hunter who shot an elk by mistake, thinking it was a deer: She won't get to keep the meat, hide or big antlers. Conservation officials have also not finished their investigation or decided if any warnings or citations will be issued (elk are protected). The story has gone viral, and Abby Wilson's father is protecting her hide, warning that some online comments amount to "bullying."